We listed Brooklyn's Nu Hotel as one of the top five hotels in Brooklyn and ever since it opened, we have felt like it could be a place we wouldn't mind stashing our visiting parents, whether we lived in Manhattan or right around the corner.

Since our parents (or friends) haven't had a chance to check it out for themselves -- hammocks in the rooms and all -- we dropped into TripAdvisor to see what reviewers had to say.

Feedback was mostly positive -- a couple "teething problems," but nothing out of the ordinary for any recently-opened hotel. But what really jumped out to us were the number of reviewers who commented on

It's been a bit since we've heard anything out of the "Real World: Brooklyn" kids, but that doesn't mean they've stopped kicking around their nabe. City-centric blog NewYorkology spied the cast at Red Hook's landmark grocery store:

"Real World: Brooklyn" kids filming in the Fairway parking lot... in the backseat of a car.

There you have it: Even when laying low, reality stars are trashy.

Related Stories:
· "Real World: Brooklyn" Spotted Again in Red Hook [Jaunted]
· Chasing "Real World: Brooklyn" Map [Jaunted]

[Photo of Fairway: Live Search]

Fall is harvest time in America's farmland, and, if you look closely enough, in the cities too. Brooklyn, which probably isn't the first place that comes to mind when you think "harvest," has a fall food festival of its own this weekend.

The Gowanus Harvest Festival will bring locally-grown veggies, potato sack races, pony rides and other down-home excitement to the banks of the (not-so) scenic Gowanus Canal. Of course, this is still Brooklyn, so there will be live indie rock and local microwbrews on hand as well. Obviously.

The festival, which takes place Saturday, October 11, will be held at outdoor performance space The Yard.

Related Stories:
· The Yard [Official Site]
· Fall Festivals coverage [Jaunted]

[Photo: Gowanus Harvest Festival]

Depending on your feelings about "The Real World: Brooklyn," the blogger behind Driven by Boredom is either the luckiest or sorriest guy on New York's nightlife scene this month.

After seeing cast member Chet Cannon canoodling with Whitney Thompson, he bumped into the reality show stars-in-the-making at another rock show, this time at Public Assembly in Williamsburg:

Once again"The Real World" has snuck into my life to see another friend's band. First it was Semi Precious Weapons and now its Shiragirl. This time I did some apologizing to the cast for the drama I may have caused them particularly Chet Cannon and Scott.

Chet wanted me to make it very clear that he is not engaged, and both of them know this sort of thing comes with the package of being on TV. When it is all over Chet is going to get a job in finance and Scott hopes to make it as an actor.

At least they were having fun in Brooklyn this time!

Related Stories:
· Shiragirl v. "The Real World" [DbB]
· "Real World: Brooklyn" Borough Avoidance Explained [Jaunted]
· Chasing "The Real World" Map [Jaunted]

[Photo of Public Assembly: Google]

Summer's end doesn't mean New York's done with free festivals. In fact, one of the city's most unique art festivals gets going this weekend.

The 12th annual DUMBO Arts Under the Bridge Festival will take over more or less an entire Brooklyn neighborhood this Friday through Sunday, with hundreds of public art projects and open studios.

As you might expect if you've ever been to über-artsy DUMBO, you won't catch many painting or photography exhibits here. Art in this case is more along the lines of interactive exhibits like Politaoke, which lets you karaoke along to your favorite political speeches; and a "borderless installation" that has something to do with eating a pile of potatoes.

Related Stories:
· DUMBO Arts Under the Bridge Festival [Official Site]
· Public Art coverage [Jaunted]

[Photo: innuendo]

The list of un-hipster-fied Brooklyn neighborhoods grows shorter seemingly by the day, and gritty Gowanus, wedged between Park Slope and Carroll Gardens, is clearly next on the hit list.

So far, the industrial neighborhood is shaping up to be a focal point for local music. The Bell House, a large new venue from the owners of Park Slope's Union Hall, opened in Gowanus last week. LimeWire has details on the venue's opening night show with secret guests Nada Surf, who were so secret that they didn't even show!

You may not know it, but part of HotelChatter HQ happens to be located in Brooklyn, NY. And if you were, say, heading to NYC for a big-city visit, we'd be quick to recommend our 'hood instead of that busier, slightly more stressful borough over the bridge (don't be scared! Brooklyn kicks ass!) But hey, we'll be the first to break the news to you: hotels are pretty hard to come by 'round these parts.

But we're here for you. You're gonna be tired when you get here (you know, cause "no sleep 'til Brooklyn" and all) so we'll get right to it: after the jump, our five fave Brooklyn hotels.

Tyler Kord, former chef at West Village celeb-sighting spot Perry Street, is bringing the fancy out to Brooklyn with No. 7, a sleek new bar-restaurant currently soft opening in Fort Greene.

It takes a dire occasion indeed for a van der Woodsen or a Waldorf to leave her home borough. But "Gossip Girl" creator Cecily von Ziegesar seemed happy to be reading from the book that started it all, the very first dispatch filed by the Gossip Girl herself, at the Brooklyn Book Festival yesterday.

So maybe the reason the cast members of "Real World: Brooklyn" keep hanging out in Manhattan is because no one in their neighborhood of Red Hook actually likes them!

Says one local:

The whole operation has been pretty low-key, and they haven't bothered us much. That's because everybody in Red Hook is saying "no way," and shutting the door on them.

Filming is slated to continue for another couple months before the show--which we probably won't even need to watch by then--debuts in January 2009.

Related Stories:
· Filming Undermined by Upset Neighbors [amNY]
· "Real World: Brooklyn": Fashion Week Edition [Jaunted]
· "Real World: Brooklyn" Goes Back to Manhattan [Jaunted]